University of Waterloo students study noise near region's airport, review flight paths to lessen impact

People who live near the Region of Waterloo International Airport know it can get noisy there and that intrigued a group of third-year geography and aviation students at the University of Waterloo.

As pilots, Matthew Toy, Chase Cardoza, Nikith Challa and Isabelle Mazzocco know planes can get loud and wanted to look into just how much noise pollution comes from the planes taking off and landing at the airport and how that impacts people in the surrounding community.

"As pilots we like the sound of planes. We always look up and try to figure out what plane it is, but we know a lot of people aren't pilots and they might not enjoy the sound of planes as much as we do," Toy told CBC News.

"We wanted to look at how our operations affect everyone else in the region."

More than 445,000 passengers travelled through the airport in 2023, which is an 18 per cent increase from the year before according to the region.

Using a special program called geographic information system (GIS) and public online information from the Government of Canada and the region, the group was able to calculate how much sound affects communities in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge.

"It was 86 to 90 decibels at the source, which is at the plane, and that changes as the plane comes closer to the ground," Challa said about the sound from small aircraft.

"Further out, at high altitude, it's not that loud, but as it gets closer and closer it gets louder and louder and it spreads out."

Cardoza said that can impact anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 people on a flight path. Mazzocco added people on the ground will hear anywhere from 35 to 70 decibels depending on if they are right under the airplane or if they are further away.

"Around 35 decibels you can expect it to be like a library, at 45 you can expect it to be like classroom noise or an office and 55 decibels is like an electric tooth brush or an air conditioner," Cardozza said.

For larger jets, like the Boeing 737 used by Flair Airlines or West Jet, those decibel numbers can jump to 65 to 85 decibels and can affect a larger range of people, from 5,000 people all the way to half a million people, Challa said.

Noise can impact people's well-being

Through their research and analysis of different studies, the group found being exposed to this kind of noise pollution could have impacts on a community's health and well-being.

"Especially children and their learning, school and getting good sleep and being able to concentrate when your doing your homework," Mazzocco said.

Mazzocco said it can also lead to sleep deprivation. Health Canada's website says insufficient sleep can lead to a number of health concerns including chronic stress and poor mental health while the Heart and Stroke Foundation notes a lack of sleep can increase a person's risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

It can also impact how much people feel like they can enjoy their properties and that, in turn, could affect housing prices, Cardoza said.

Rerouting flight paths

The group calculated different flight routes for arrivals to mitigate the number of people impacted by noise.

But getting those new routes implemented is not as simple as just going to the airport with their recommendations.

Toy said the group would have to submit their findings to Nav Canada, a non-profit corporation that manages Canada's civil air navigation system and airspace.

"They have to make sure that it's safe and there's a lot of considerations on how much fuel the plane uses," he said.

"So if they're going to divert from the city to make less noise, the [planes] will need to use a little bit more fuel and they have to consider the time and safety aspect of it, too."

Toy added there have been some efforts at the airport to change arrival routes for the smaller aircraft because those routes can be more flexible.

The group is hoping to continue their research and they want to send their work to Nav Canada in the future.